Finding A Dream
by Breel75
Summary: Gema is just like any other Orre girl. She likes to battle and get to the top. But, when she accepts a scholarship and goes to Kalos to learn about art, will she find battling wasn't her dream after all? Or will she find something that calls her name more? Join her on her adventure to find out who she is made to be abd where she wants to go.


I stand, amazed at the Kalos region. Coming from the Orre region, where Pokémon are few and far between, it amazes me to see so many Pokémon wondering around in one place. Seeing Rattata running on the ground everywhere and people sitting grooming their Pokémon, most I haven't even read about or seen. People talking about where they come from and their Pokémon. Pokémon are walking with their trainers and companions, helping some with luggage or just walking next to them. Some perch themselves on their trainer's shoulders. I look over to the water as I go into the airport building where the luggage is. There is even more Pokémon in the water, jumping out and back in. I know deep under the waves there are even more just waiting to be seen. Oh, how I love the water and the Pokémon that live in it.

I sit down at the airport where I got off the plane by a window so I can watch as flying Pokémon fly freely in the sky. Most of these sights would never present themselves in Orre, which is why I am so amazed by all of this. People in Orre are too protective over their Pokémon cause the only real way to obtain them is to buy, sell and trade till you get the one you want, get them pasted down from your parents, catch the only nine types that are available at the three catch zones, or steal them. More often than not, Pokémon are stolen. It is a sight that comes up all too often, so many people in Orre makes sure they won't lose their Pokémon by any means necessary. It is so hard to gain Pokémon back home in Orre, which is only one of the many reasons why I left. The biggest reason is so I can go to the Pokémon art academy and learn how to create Pokémon art. That has always been a dream of mine.

I take out a book about the many different things Pokémon compete and are trained for in all other regions. Gyms and contents seem to be the most popular ones among most regions. Gyms being a test of strength and building the right team to defeat anyone. After gaining eight badges, you go on to the Pokémon league and fight the Elite Four and become a Pokémon master. Contests, on the other hand, are more about highlighting the beauty Pokémon posses. While there are Pokémon battles in contests, they are mainly to showcase how beautiful the Pokémon is, and not so much about the winning. While both sound amazing and fun, I would rather do art. Capturing the Pokémon at their greatest moments. Showing the bond between trainer and Pokémon. Either that or I want an excuse to travel a lot.

Art captured my attention for the most part. I haven't had much experience outside of Orre, and already there are million things different about being here. I flip through the book and read about Pokémon Connoisseurs who specialize in telling trainers about their bond with Pokémon. Then there are the Speciality Trainers who work with only one type of Pokémon. Day Care, people who care for Pokémon when their trainers can't. Police officers who just keep the peace and fight against crimes. Rangers who protect the wild life of Pokémon and their habitat. Not to mention the many jobs there are at places like the Battle Frontier in Sinnoh. Although I can only read about these kind of things, it makes me wonder how it would feel to be in those jobs. But, I chose to do art. Mainly because I love to draw, and I have a scholarship for an art school here in Kalos.

It is kind of crazy to think I am only 16 and I am out on my own. I am tall for my age, and rather slim. I wear shorts that go halfway to my knees and wear a shorter shirt. My backpack is a rather big one. It is a mix of purple and white. My shoes are black sneakers with blue on the lining. My hair is long and brown with some dark purple mixed in. On my arm is a machine I got from the Pokémon professor in Orre, Professor Krane. It has a black sleeve that goes over my arm that it stays on, a glove with a small metal ring in the palm of my hand and a shoulder part that covers all of my shoulder. Wires go cleanly down my arm and it connects to a headset that I wear. Professor Krane made sure it could only be used when needed, and hopefully I will never have to use it. For some of my life, since I was ten, I studied under the only Pokémon professor in Orre. I remember what the professor told me before I left.

 _Don't worry about us here at home. Your step-dad wanted you to leave Orre one day to have a more fulfilling life. He always said you couldn't have the life you truly deserve staying here._

My step-dad always wanted the best for me. He always thought Orre was never the place for me. And I fully understand why. I flip through the pages of the book to see where I left off with contests since I am most interested in drawing Pokémon from there. It is hard with the glove and partly robotic arm I wear. It isn't like my arm is damaged and I cannot use it without the machine attached to me. It was a request from Professor Krane. If Orre's deepest secret ever was to get out, then I was to stop it from causing the problems that it caused in Orre. That, I intend to do. No one needs to go through the same stress Orre went through twice with its secret. As for what it is, it shall stay a secret for as long as possible.

That secret is the reason why there is a law saying not many people can leave or come to Orre. The reason why it is so hard to get to Orre. I am one of the few exceptions to this law. I was allowed out for research and schooling. I'm one of the first ones in years who are allowed out, since Orre is planning to reopen its boarders to the rest of the world again. Not like anyone would want to go to Orre for vacation anyways. It is a barren desert with nothing to do other than battle. Orre has its own way of battling. Colosseum battles to be exact. It is almost like a double battle, but much harder. In Orre, combining moves and being ruthless is how you win. There always is a high risk of coming out with less Pokémon than you came in with cause of how rough the battles are, but it surprisingly doesn't happen too much since some rules started taking effect about how harsh the battles can be. Sometimes, though, a Colosseum would have more Knot members in its game than regular trainers.

The Knots are a huge problem in Orre. Knots are these big groups or even organizations of criminals that steals all and any Pokémon they see. Sometimes they are small, just doing the small things and causing small problems. But other times, they become a huge threat. A Knot is what caused Orre to have a dark secret that hasn't allow people to come and go from Orre in years. They caused everything to go downhill fast and a lot of people were effected because of it. It took years for Orre to heal. It still has a long way to go in terms of healing.

If it wasn't for those Knots, I would probably still have my mother here. She sadly passed in an attack. She wasn't a part of any sort of Knot; she was just at work at a hotel. I never really knew what had happened to her, since I was really young and I hadn't really asked what happened to her. I remember her well, though. She was a strong woman, always going the extra mile for me and her friends. Sure, she battled in Colossuems, but she was never apart of any Knot or did any favors for them. She was always good at staying out of trouble with them. It makes me wonder why, out of anything, that was how she went.

But then again, if it wasn't for the Knots, I would also still have my biological father in my life, and since he walked out while I was really young, I have no idea how that would've turned out. My mom said before, even without being in a Knot, he wasn't the best guy out there. According to my mom, he always wanted to see if he could get more and his heart was far from pure and good. Even if he didn't leave to be apart of a Knot, my mom would have left him anyways.

My step-dad came in while I was young, but I remember him coming into my life. He was always the guy I counted on, even if he was in a Knot. How my mother and him met I will never know, but he ended up being the perfect father to me. In many ways, he always treated me like I was his daughter, even though I wasn't. He always supported my love for Pokémon. I remember telling him how I wanted to leabe Orre and learn about the many Pokémon out there, and he supported that. I wanted to learn to battle and he taught me. He gave me my first too Pokémon. One of his favorite Pokémon and an egg There was never a dream that he wouldn't support. Well, almost none. He would never entertain the idea of me going into a Knot, even though he was and still is in one. He kept telling me when I was younger how it isn't the best thing in the world and I would habe better luck finding a different carrer. I took his word for it.

Thinking about home makes me really miss being home in a way. Sure, it was a rough place to grow up with there being only one gym, very limited Pokémon, and the Knots, but it is home. My step-dad is probably still there doing something with his Knot. I know he promised me one day we would leave Orre and I know he never broke a promise before. He always came through no matter what. He did with my Pokémon, he did with raising me even with my mother gone, and I know this won't be any different. He will come through.

I look up from my book and look around one more time. I didn't have to wait for any luggage since I have everything in my bag. I just wanted to take in all the new sights. I guess I can let my Pokémon out here since there isn't any type of danger from what I can see.

"Come on out, you two!" I say.

I let my two Pokémon out. One is a Lombre which is in my step-dads' favorite evolution line, the other is an Eevee that came out of the Pokémon egg my step-dad gave me. I named the Lombre Paddy cause of the lily pad on its head, and the Eevee I named Shadow. Paddy looked at me and Shadow came and sat on my lap. I pet Shadow and looked at Paddy.

"I guess I can let you guys out more often now we are in Kalos." I say. "We should probably go find our guide to the school."

When I got accepted to the academy in Kalos, they said someone would come pick me up at the airport. I've been sitting here for a few minutes so I should probably get going and look for them. I got up and put Shadow on my shoulder and Paddy follows behind me as I walk. I looked around and see one of the professors I saw in the brochure for the academy. I walk up to him rather shyly. I am not the best at talking to people. But it doesn't seem to matter.

"Hello, is it safe to assume you are Gema?" He asks.

"Y-yes I am. Nice to meet you." I say.

"My name is Professor Andy. I will be teaching you at the academy." He says as he shakes my hand.

"Great to meet you, Professor. Can't wait to start learning." I say.

"Great to hear, but it can wait till tomorrow. For right now, we must return to the academy and get you settled in." He says. "Are these your Pokémon?"

"Yes. Yes, they are. This is Shadow and Paddy." I say.

"Well, aren't the two of you well taken care of." He says. "Ready to go?"

I nod and head out. We got into the car he had parked out front. I sat in the front seat with Shadow in my lap and Paddy leap into the back seat. The drive wasn't that long, but it was long enough for me to catch my eyes on a few Pokémon I haven't seen yet. Both Paddy and Shadow love seeing the many different Pokémon as well. I couldn't wait to show them all the type of Pokémon and for us to make some new friends. There are so many I have to see and learn about them. You can only learn so much by reading about Pokémon in books. A lot of it has to be learnt by living with the Pokémon and here, I am going to have more chances to do that.

"So, you come from Orre?" Professor Andy asks.

"Yeah, I do." I answer.

"I will be honest, I never heard of Orre before I read your application." He says.

"Most haven't. It isn't exactly a place you would hear about unless you are looking for it." I say. Shadow stuck her head out the window and enjoys the wind in her face. Paddy is laying in the back seat, enjoying the sun from the backseat window. I pet Shadow as she enjoys the wind in her face.

"How is it over there?" He asks.

"Not the best. It is a rough place with very few Pokémon. A few years back, they discovered wild Pokémon for the first time." I say.

"Oh, really? That must've been nice."

"Kind of." I say rubbing the back of my neck. "Only nine Pokémon were ever discovered."

"So I guess that means not many Pokémon inhabit Orre." He says.

"Not many at all. It is kina a shock to see so many type of Pokémon in one place." I say, looking out the window.

"You are surely going to love exploring around the academy then. Many wild Pokémon come to the campus. Mainly cause kids on campus keep feeding them." He says with a chuckle. "You'll have a lot of chances to study Pokémon while drawing them."

"That is going to be amazing." I say.

"Well, here we are." He says as we pull into the campus parking lot.

The academy is pretty big. Three buildings seemed to make up the campus. Two seemed to be the dorms, one for girls and one for boys. The middle building seemed to be the school. All the main entrances faced the plaza in the middle of all three of the buildings. I couldn't wait to explore the campus. Professor Andy parked the car and we got out. Paddy jumps into the front seat to get out with me. I pick Shadow up and Paddy jumps out of the car and follows Professor Andy and I.

"Let me show you to your dorm." Professor Andy says.

"Alright." I say.

I followed him to one of the dorms. I assume it's the girl's dorm. We go in and I see it is beautifully designed. The walls are filled with many different prints from famous artists and original paintings from students. It is cool they post up the students works. The inside was like a mansion. Beautiful wood lined the doors and windows. Pillars support the roof and have perfect art chiseled into them. All sort of little Pokémon designed in the style of ruin art ran all the way up the pillars. The building is four stories up, and my room is on the top floor. It is small, but there is enough room for a small desk, a bed and a love seat.

"This is your room. It is small, but it is enough to do work." Professor Andy says. "No boys are allowed in the girls' room, just like how girls aren't allowed in the boys' rooms. It is just a rule we have here. However, there is a lobby in both dorms where both girls and boys are allowed so you can study with everyone."

"Awesome." I say.

"I will let you get settled. Class starts at 8:30 AM tomorrow morning, so head to bed early." He says. "I will see you tomorrow."

With that, he leaves and closes the door. I sit on the bed that came with the dorm and look at the desk. Paddy climbs up it and looks out the window the desk is facing. He looks out the window and Shadow climbs on my bed. No love seat, but that is fine. At least the desk has a chair. It is a small wooden desk with an office chair. The bed has a simple wooden frame. Nothing fancy, but the room still looks like its in a fancy mansion. This place is beautiful and I can't help but want to get up and explore the campus. I pull my bag off of my shoulder and get up. I leave my room and take note of the room number. 407. Easy enough to remember. Shadow follows me, but Paddy seems to want to stay in the room and sunbathe on my desk, so I leave him to do so. I see a slate on the wall right next to my door. I guess they let the students personalize the place a little. I don't have any idea what to put, so I put my signature on the slate and head down the stairs with shadow following behind me. I look into the lobby. Not a lot of people are there, but I am too shy to say hi. I wonder out of the dorm and head to the middle of the plaza. There is a small garden in the middle of the plaza. There are a lot of trees and flowers all over the plaza but in the middle, there are benches to sit down on. I take a seat and look around. Shadow sits next to me and looks where I look. Many students and professors are wondering around and working on many different things. Sketches, pictures, and marking projects. Eventually, a boy came along and sat down next to me.

"Hey! Hope you don't mind me sitting here." He says.

"I don't mind at all." I say

"My name is Jackson. I am in Professor Andy class." He says

He wears a green cap, a green jacket and jeans. He leaned back on the bench and looked up to the sky.

"I am too. Starting tomorrow." I say.

"Same here. Nice to meet you. Seems like we are in the same class." He says.

"Nice to meet you Jackson. I am Gema." I say. Shadow looks at Jackson and jumps on his lap.

"Shadow!" I say as a grab her off of Jackson. "Sorry about that. She loves people."

"Don't worry. Why did you name your Eevee Shadow?" He asks.

"I am hoping she evolves into an Umbreon." I say.

"That is awesome. Got any other Pokémon?" He asks.

Jackson and I start talking for a little bit about Pokémon, art and what we are hoping we will learn in the course of the year. It is great to meet an artist around my age who is in the same class as I am. He is fun to hang with, he makes a lot of jokes, and I am starting to wonder how good of an artist he is. But that is all just a first impression of him.

"So, what are you hoping to do with your art?" He asks me.

"Trading cards and maybe some art galleries. What about you?" I ask. I pet Shadow who is sleeping on my lap.

"Mainly trading cards. Got to love the art on those cards." He says

"Yes, they are amazing." I say. "I would love to do some art for them one of these days."

We talk for a little while longer, for as long as we could. Then we decided it was getting late and we should meet up again in class tomorrow. I pick up Shadow and head back to my dorm and went to my room. Paddy is asleep on my desk and I put Shadow on the foot of my bed. She is in deep sleep and I am sure nothing will wake her up now. I sort out the things in my bags and put everything I wouldn't need for class tomorrow away on the shelves. After that, I lay down in my bed and try to get to sleep. I got my schedule in the mail before I left. I have art class, history, Photo class and free sketch time. It seems like an easy schedule, not much on my plate. I just hope it is as relaxed as it seems. After I get change and put away the machine that is usually on my arm, I fall asleep and dream of the next day.

The next day, I wake up at 6:30. Paddy is still asleep but Shadow is up and jumping on the bed. Maybe she is trying to get my attention or something. It wouldn't surprise me if she is hungry and wants something to eat.

"Shhhh, Shadow. We can't be making noise for the people below us." I tell her.

She looks at me and smiles the way she always does. I giggle. Time to get up and ready for the day. Climb out of the bed and head to take a shower. I leave Paddy and Shadow behind because there is no point in taking them with me. In the shower room, there are sinks for brushing your teeth and what ever else you need to do. After that, I go to my room and put on some clothes. I put on a tee shirt and jeans. Wonder why they don't have uniforms or anything like that. It is interesting cause a lot of other schools do. By the time I am finish getting ready, Paddy is awake. Shadow is bugging him as she always does.

"Good morning, Paddy." I say. "How did you sleep?"

Paddy seems like he slept well on my desk, which is actually kind of surprising. I smile and we go off for some food before class. It is busy in the cafeteria as everyone is getting some breakfast but I am able to get some food for the three of us. The food was really good. Nothing like the slop TV shows like to show for school food. After that, we clean up and start walking to class. It is a beautiful morning and I take a little extra time getting to class. I get a little lost looking for the classroom but I make it with time to spare. By the time I get to class, it is 8 AM, so I sit and read for a little bit while Shadow and Paddy sit under my desk. Jackson comes in five minutes before class and he sits right next to me.

"First day of class. This is going to be awesome." He says.

"Yeah, it is. This class is rather small. Only ten people including us. Wonder why that is." I say.

"You would think being between Lumious City and Santalune City would cause a lot of traffic in the school. But they accept me so few students to keep the school small." He says. "It helps keep the atmosphere as calm and relaxed as it is."

"But it makes it harder to get in to the school." I say.

"Yep. It is a true honor to get in." He says. I guess he saw my Pokémon under the desk. "You know; they have a place where they can run free on the campus here if you don't want to leave them in their Pokéballs."

"I know. I was reading about it but I don't want to leave them there." I say.

"Why not? Mine are there right now." He says.

"You have Pokémon?" I ask then interrupt his answer. "I've never really been separated from these guys. My dad gave me Paddy and I hatched Shadow out of an egg we found."

"Your dad must've been awesome." He says.

I smile. Really, that is only a part of the reason why I am not leaving them with anyone else. I haven't been able to just run around with them out of their Pokeballs back in Orre unless I was at home, so I am just having fun with them. I feel leaving them out can help our friendship a lot. I hadn't played with them all that much and now that I can, it's the only thing on my mind.

The bell starts to ring and class begins. Professor Andy walks in and introduces himself to the class.

"Hello everyone. My name is Professor Andy." He says. "I've had the privilege of meeting some of you already. But to those of you who I have yet to meet, I hope we can get to know each other as the year goes on. For today, though, all I am going to ask you is for a simple sketch of one of three Pokémon. You can choose between Pikachu, Piplup or Froakie. We will take it step by step."

I chose to do Froakie and it was a simple sketch. It was all simple shapes and nothing more. I found it simple and rather fun. Once finished, I looked over at Lees drawing of Froakie. He didn't get everything right. The shapes were off, but he tried. The rest of the time in class was practicing with the other two choices. Working on the other two was fun as well. Throughout the class, Paddy and Shadow sits quietly under the desk and I am glad they didn't disturb anyone or else I may have been forced to take them to the care place.

After that, the bell rings again and it is time to go to the next class. Jackson and I have the same classes all throughout the day, so we hang out in all of them. For the most part, Paddy and Shadow just sit under the desk or on it sometimes. I am sure glad I have such well behaved Pokémon. We talk about projects and homework. Eventually that talk turns into us goofing off and talking about where we came from. Quickly enough, we became friends. Quite close ones at that, and all on the first day. It is awesome having him around. Soon enough, the day is over and Jackson and I are hanging out in the forest just out side the campus. We are laying on a blanket looking up to the sky. Paddy and Shadow came with us and are laying next to us. We talk about the history class and what we learned for a bit. Then something caught my eye. A little orange ball running across the ground. I sit up and look around for it so I can see what it was. It seems to have also captured Shadows attention, but Paddy could care less.

"Something wrong?" Jackson asks.

"No. Just thought I saw something." I say.

"The little orange ball? Pretty sure that was a Dedenne." He says. "Never seen one before?"

"Nope. Orre doesn't have any of those types." I say.

"Can't say I've heard that before. Seems weird only nine Pokémon can be found in the wild." He says as he pulls something out of his bag. "Some bait for Dedenne."

He pulls out some pokefood out of his bag and opens it up. He puts some in his palms and held it out in front of him. At first, Shadow got up to get some so I had to pick her up and hold her so she didn't get to the food before Dedenne does. A small orange mouse came out of a small bush in front of us. It has a long tail with a star like end. It has a round body with a tan belly. Its cheeks have red circles on them. Sticking out were two whiskers which looks like a radio antenna. It has long, round ears which just adds to its cuteness. The Dedenne came up to Jackson and took some of the food in his hand. I sit there amazed at how adorable the little Dedenne is when eating. Jackson hands me some food for Dedenne and Shadow since she wants a snack.

"Just hold it out for the little guy to take." Jackson says.

"Alright." I say as I let go of Shadow and hold out the food in the palm of my hand.

Dedenne came up to me and slowly sniffs the food in my palm. It takes one and nibbles on it. Shadow got some in her mouth already and doesn't bother Dedenne in any way. She just eats it and enjoys it as she always does. Dedenne takes the food and starts nibbling on it.

"How cute!" I say.

"It is cute." Jackson says. "Maybe I can draw it."

I pull out my camera with my other hand without scaring Dedenne away. "I am going to take a picture of this little guy as a reference picture later on." I say. Dedenne takes the last bit of food out of my hand and nibbles on it. I take the picture and save it on my camera. I put it away and watch Dedenne head off to wherever it came from. It was cute to see the little guy run off. Shadow just goes back to laying down since Dedenne didn't stick around to play.

"Hey, Gema." Jackson says.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Why did you come to this school? Besides the obvious, of course." He says.

"Honestly, I just wanted to leave Orre." I say.

"Wasn't a fan of your home town?" He asks.

"It wasn't so much that. It does play a big part of why I left but isn't the whole reason." I say. "You see, Orre is a rough place. There are groups that we call Knots. They aren't the type of people you want for friends."

"Why is that?" He asks.

"Well, basically, they are criminals who gather in groups. Some are small and just go around stealing peoples Pokémon, or other things that hold more value in Orre. Other times, they are threats to entire towns. I remember one time a Knot ended up being a threat to the entire region."

"Huh, so I guess they run the place." He says. "I can see why you would want to leave there."

"It isn't the whole reason why I left. It was apart of the reason, but not much." I say to him. "I'm also waiting for someone."

"Really? Who?"

"My step-dad." I say

"What happened to your dad who gave you Paddy?" Jackson asks. "Sorry, that was a little personal."

"It's fine. My real dad didn't give me Paddy; my step-dad did along with Shadow. I never knew who my real dad was because he walked out on my mom and I when I was so young."

"Wow. That must suck not having your dad around…" Jackson says as he went quiet. I am going to guess he has both of his parents around, or something along those lines.

"My step-dad stepped in to raise me, so it's not like I didn't grow up without a father figure. He promised we would leave Orre together one day. One day after he got free from his Knot."

Jackson looks at me like he was in shock. "Your step-dad is in a Knot?" He asks

"Yep." I say. "He isn't a bad person, just got tied up with the wrong people. He is working on getting out, but he didn't want me to stay in Orre if I could leave, even more so if I could go to school and do what I love. He cares about me and promised we would travel together once he got out to make up for all the time we lost with him working in the Knot. He always felt so bad for lost time."

"How did he get in the Knot if you don't mind me asking?" He asks.

"As far as I know, he joined with his friend when he was really young. Back then, it was just a small Knot. They did nothing major but they did become a big threat to Orre after a while." I say. "Eventually, they created the reason why people haven't been able to leave Orre for years now. The greatest secret it has."

"What's that?" Jackson asks.

"That, I can't tell you." I say. "You see; it needs to stay in Orre. It caused so much trouble between all people and Pokémon. It destroyed the relationship people and Pokémon in Orre, possible forever. At this point, everyone is hoping that it is forgotten, and the people who caused it are locked up."

"That is one rough secret." He says. "Why were you able to gain permission to leave Orre?"

"It is all because Orre is trying to reopen its boarders." I say.

Jackson nods as we watch the sky for a while longer. Then, he turns to me. "Hey, I didn't want to sound rude or anything by bringing this up when we first met, but what is with that thing on your arm?" He asks.

I look to the machine on my arm that he is talking about. I am not sure what to say to this. If I tell him the truth about it, that it is a snag machine that can steal Pokémon from people under certain conditions, then I might just look like I am in a Knot waiting for a good time to strike. The truth is I have it so I can keep control over Orres secret, which is a thing called Shadow Pokémon. Pokémon who have their hearts closed off artificially to make them fighting machines. Sometimes, they even attacked people. It had been used by people before me to make sure Shadow Pokémon get purified and return to their old selves. Professor Krane gave it to me in case something happened outside of Orre. I know it is a horrible deed to steal Pokémon from other trainers, so that is why I will only steal from those who have no intentions to do good and purify the Pokémon.

But if I don't tell him the truth, I would feel bad. I know I will seem crazy if I told him the truth. I need to lie to him as much as I don't want to. I can't risk seeming like an escaped criminal here. This is my chance to have a normal life. That is all I want. "It is just some machine I found in an abandoned lab one time." I say. "Missing so many wires that I doubt it works anymore, but I thought it made me look cool."

"Oh." Jackson says. "What do you think it did? Do you know?"

"Not really." I say. "I never found anything on it. Just assumed it was nothing."

After that, we sat in quiet for a little while and just watch the Pokémon in the air fly. The sun was starting to go down and go into night, so we knew we should be heading back to the dorms. But we can't help but watch the Pokémon fly in the sky. After a while, we started heading back to the dorms for the night. I put Shadow and Paddy in their Pokéballs and walk with Jackson to the dorms. We went to our dorms and I go up to my room. I put my things away and lay in bed, thinking of my dad. I wonder where he is now. I wonder when he will come back for me. I wonder if he is okay. I wonder if he can get out. I wonder if he can't. Turning to my side, I push that thought away. He can and will get out. He promised. He made me a promise he will get away no matter what. I am holding on to hope even though in the back of my head, I know it is all just false hope. I still refuse to accept it is false hope. I believe in my dad, and he will come for me. Eventually. I fall asleep with that being my last thought.

For a few weeks, everything goes by smoothly. I made a few friends besides Jackson. Hanging out with them between classes is always eventful. I study the many different Pokémon I would never see in person living in Orre. I enjoy studying them and seeing their way of life. How they run, play and even grow. Jackson and I work hard on our art. The Dedenne picture I took with Jackson the first time we hung out after class became useful during Professor Andy's class when he got us to take reference pictures and draw them. Everything went well till I met one little Pokémon in the forest one day when I was alone.

I wonder alone in the forest looking for Pokémon to take pictures of for reference. As I wonder, I come across a Turtwig laying on the ground. He seems to be hurting bad. He wasn't moving and struggling to hang on. I go up to him and check on him. He needs help but I am not sure if he is wild or has a trainer. I guess that doesn't matter right now. I start to panic so I pick him up and take him to the school. When I get on campus, Professor Andy is standing where I am entering. He sees I am holding the Turtwig and he could tell the little guy needs help.

"Where did you find this little guy?" He asks as he guides me to the center that could heal him.

"Out in the woods." I say still in a panic.

"Do you know what happened to him?" He asks.

"No. You are strangely calm through this." I say as we run through the doors of the center.

"This isn't the first time a Pokémon has needed our help." He says.

We get Turtwig checked in and I wait on a bench outside as the nurse takes care of him. Professor Andy says he has to take off to do some marking and other work, and tells me not to worry too much about Turtwig. But, me being me, I worry anyways. It feels so random to me to find Turtwig that hurt out in the wild. I am not sure if wild Pokémon fight that much in the wild. I doubt it but who knows. I haven't had much contact with wild Pokémon till now. I guess I will have to see what happens next. These last few months has been insane. I've been learning so much about all the Pokémon here and, since they are rare in Orre, it has been a huge shock to see all the different types and forms Pokémon have. It has taught me so much about the world outside of Orre and I am happy to be here. I am happy to feel this presence and to be at this school learning how to draw. I adore it all. This experience could never have happened if I didn't leave Orre.

Then I remember I left the place I called home. The place where I was born and raised. While some would say it is for the best I am out and never go back, I miss Orre. After all, it is where my childhood is. Where I spent the hours playing around with a ball along with Paddy and Shadow. It is where my step-dad taught me the most about life and even how to battle. Where I went to school and made friends. It is and always will be my home. I miss it. I miss my home. I miss my friends that are left in Orre. But I guess sometimes you have to move on to gain the most of life. I have kept in touch with my friends through emails, even though it is out of date. But it beats snail mail since no one in Orre seems to know what a phone is. They are all doing well and are having fun with Colosseum battles. Man, that is one thing I miss about Orre. Colosseum battles. I battled them so much, I actually became the champ of the region. Well, one of them. I ended up being tied for it with someone else.

As this thought was going through my head, the nurse came out with. I look over and see him. He seems to be alright. I go over to see if he is going to need any other care or if I can just take him back where I found him. The nurse and I talk for a bit and she says he is completely fine to go back out into the wild, but Turtwig doesn't seem to like that idea.

"Turt!" Turtwig says.

"What is it, little guy? Don't you want to go back to the wild?" I ask as I sit down next to it.

That is when Turtwig bites off one of my Pokéballs I keep around my waist. He points at it and keeps talking.

"I am going to say you already have a trainer, then." I say.

"How can you be sure?" Asks the nurse.

"He knows what the Pokéball does, so that is one hint." I say. "Plus, he wouldn't be so upset to go into the wild if he was just a normal wild Pokémon."

"I guess that is true." The nurse says. "Are you going to go look for his trainer?"

"I kind of have to. He has one of my Pokémon in that ball he is holding." I say with a laugh. "We will start looking tomorrow after class, okay, Turtwig?"

Turtwig gives me the Pokéball back and agrees, or I am assuming he is. It has been a long day so I go to my dorm early. But, before I get to my room, Jackson stops me.

"Hey! Gema! What is up with you tonight?" He asks.

"Nothing much. Just heading to-" I say before I get interrupted.

"Hey! Where did you find that Turtwig?" Jackson asks.

"Found him in the woods. He has a trainer who must've lost him or something like that." I say.

"Huh, weird." He starts. "Usually, you can only get these guys from a professor as a starter Pokémon. They usually can't be found in the wild. Oh, hey! Our final exam for our first course! If we pass, then we can change our cards from the Starter ID cards to the Novice ID card!"

"That is exciting! You know what Pokémon we are doing?" I ask.

"No idea! But I am going to use the Pokémon we have learned to draw to practice for it. Want to join me?" He asks.

"Sure. I was planning on just going to sleep but I am sure it wont hurt to stay up a little while longer." I say

"That is the right mind set! We've got to do well on this!" Jackson says.

Jackson and I draw through the night, letting our Pokémon play with Turtwig while we work. Paddy and Shadow seems to like to hang out with Turtwig, and they all seem to be friends. While I work, I wonder what Turtwig went through to end up where I found him. I wonder how he ended up separated from his trainer. I wonder what his story is. I guess I am going to find out once I find his trainer. Which I hope is soon. It isn't like I don't like having Turtwig around, I am sure he is an amazing Pokémon, I just want him back with his trainer. I just want him to be back where he belongs. I would be worried sick if Turtwig was mine and I didn't have him by my side. I am going to guess Turtwig wants to go back to his trainer as well. As I draw, I take a moment to try and draw Turtwig as he plays with Shadow. I do somewhat well with his drawing and I really like how it turned out. I sit and watch the Pokémon play for a little while longer before I decide it is time for me to turn in. I say goodnight to Jackson as he heads to his own dorm and I take my Pokémon and Turtwig upstairs with me to my room. It has been a while since I just relaxed with my Pokémon. I take some pokéfood and put it in bowls for them to eat. Shadow and Paddy eat like they always do. Turtwig sniffs it before he eats it. He seems to love the taste of it. After they are done eating, Turtwig and Shadow both curl up on the end of my bed to sleep. Paddy, as he usually does, curls up on my desk so the sun hits him when he wakes up in the morning. I put on some PJs and climb into bed. Once I lay down, my mind fills with thoughts of Orre. My friends, my home, and my title there. Colosseum battles is what I miss most, though. Battling to get to the top, using so many different strategies, and my rival. I wonder how he is doing these days. It is strange to say I knew my rival the best out of everyone I battled. But I guess it would be hard not to since we share the title of champs in Orre. We had to battle together a lot. Whenever someone challenged the champs, we both had to come to the call. Good thing it doesn't happen all that often.

As I thought about the Colosseums and battles, I fall asleep. When the sun comes up tomorrow, I am going to have an exam and look for Turtwig trainer. Looks like I am in for a long day tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi there! I am not the best at updating and I am sorry for that. I just had to write this one out after thinking about it for weeks. Took a while to write it all out. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and, if you guys would like to, I have written two sides to this story. This is from the good guys side and I have written from the bad guys side over on Wattpad. It is called 'The Music Spins On' and it is under the same name as I have here. Anyways, hope you guys liked it and I will see you next time!**


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